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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has offered the post of chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts to “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone. The actor is said to be interested in the position but is still thinking about it.
The agency is a federal organization which disburses funds for large creative projects. Stallone, a box-office drawer with his franchise movies “First Blood” and “Rocky,” supported the presidential bid of John McCain in 2008 against Barack Obama, but is not a registered Republican, Daily Mail reported.
The perception, however, is that Trump would be hostile to the arts. But his offer of the position to Sylvester Stallone – an A-lister – indicates that a Trump presidency would provide the arts a shot in the arm that it needs.
The 70-year-old actor once described Trump as “bigger than life,” New York Post reported. “He’s a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I don’t know how that translates to running the world,” Variety quoted Stallone.
When Stallone told his wife that he plans to follow the footsteps of fellow actor Arnold Schwarzenegger – who was known as the “Terminator” and became governor of California – his wife asked Stallone, “Are you crazy?”
The National Endowment for the Arts, established in 1965, is currently headed by Jane Chu, a philanthropist and artist. The agency has a budget of around $146.2 million, run by a 14-man board. The agency used to have its office in the Old Post Office Building, but it was torn down for the construction of the Trump Hotel.
In September, Stallone was hit with a death hoax rumor. His dead body was allegedly discovered by his housekeeper, but it turned out the CNN video allegedly showing the actor was about the death of Sage, Stallone’s son, in 2012.
